betzilla

Agree with your agreement . I've found that the PR126/OP143 level is really the last size where you can reliably say an OP "packs a size smaller." Once you get down into the smaller sizes, the low bulk fabric makes up little enough of the pack volume itself, that the one-size-smaller rule just doesn't hold true -- all that pesky suspension line and reinforcement tape take up just as much space in an OP as in a PDR. By the same token, the really big OPs pack up MORE than a size smaller than their PDR counterparts.

um, not exactly. It's been out since at least 2003 (that is when the first user review was posted here on DZ.com).

HA! I remember her telling me about this. Quickest wit around, that girl!

I will let some customers watch, sometimes. In other words, it depends. If it's busy season, and the person is a talker, I will be honest and just say I can't afford to lose the time, and my company can't afford for me to lose the time. But if it's a slow time of year, and/or the customer is a long time customer of mine or my employer, I'm much more accommodating. And some customers are just fun to have around, so sure.

hmmm. Maybe the one I saw was an '88...? It was definitely 80-something.

I have. Dom was mid-80's at the newest (I'm thinking 1983, but it was many, many years ago that I saw it, so my memory of the exact year could certainly be screwy - it was for sale on consignment in a shop I worked in).

I'm petty confident that an incompetent, creative rigger could fuck one of those up very badly too. Stupidity + confidence = a broadly frightening combination.

this is similar to the way reserve lines are stowed in most reserve freebags. When I was a new rigger, I was really scared of the same thing - that somehow the lines would end up a tangled mess and the canopy wouldn't be able to deploy. But I have never heard of that happening, with one of my pack jobs or anyone else's either, for that matter. Just go slow the first few times you do it - be careful and methodical, and soon your fingers will have muscle memory that will make stowing your lines a literal no-brainer. Enjoy your new Vector!

I second the recommendation for Sunshine Superman. It's so good!

yup. They've gotten more conservative in what they'll recommend you pack into their containers. It's all good with me, because I'd generally rather do easy pack jobs than difficult ones (I did get a little annoyed the time I had to sign a release because I was ordering a Mirage for canopies that were listed as a good fit in the old sizing guide, but not recommended in the new one. I had packed that combination many, many times, and knew it to be good fit, so I signed the release, proceeded with the order, and made my customer happy).

Please keep us posted!

I was thinking (wishing? hoping?) something similar! Thanks for posting the video, Jerry. Very, VERY cool.

Any DZ rigger can tell you that this error happens ALL THE TIME, to people/packers of all experience levels. To err is human, after all... Edit: Packers ARE people, of course, haha!

get a vector. no circle. skyhook. short delivery time. your wish is granted.

It can take an Optimum 176, not a PDR 176.

A quick google search turns up this blog post about one of Edward D Hogan's subsequent jumps. Interesting! https://av8rblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/first-canadian-parachute-jump-1888/ And here's another article, about E.D. Hogan's brother (apparently, daredeviling was a Hogan-family affair!): http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2011/07/looking_back_balloonist_prof_w.html

Invariably, when this has happened to my teams, the error happened in manifest (we give manifest a list of our personnel for the day, then manifest as a chunk of five people). I'm not saying that this is how every DZ does it, but... I'd vote bump the solo jumper (if he/she is willing), and the team thanks that jumper with frosty beverages or a packing ticket or some other nicety. ** I'm also not dissing manifestors - that's a thankless job. Sometimes mistakes like this just happen. They're pretty easy to work out when everybody acts like adults. No team I've been on would ever go do a three way when the plan was, until loading the plane, a four way training jump - that has zero value training value, and just costs money, if it wasn't the actual plan for the jump. So on one occasion, when there was a cluster in loading/manifest, and nobody else was willing to bump, all five of us pulled off and bumped to another load. Sometimes you've just got to be the bigger person (or, five bigger people ).

Yes. This works great for me.

Great post and really good info. But it's important not to conflate "brake setting," with the position of the toggle on the steering line. Brake setting is specific to each make and model of canopy, and determined by the manufacturer. The position of the toggle on the steering line, which is what @Gowlerk's post discusses so well, is recommended per canopy at the factory, but people often play with it a little to meet their own needs and flying style (I certainly do!)

I just have this to say: Girls who can sew don't need servos to be happy.

I think your theory gives people too much credit, haha. The people I've encountered who've grossly overpaid for crappy used gear have only considered how much cheaper it is than new gear, and have failed to ask someone knowledgeable whether the price makes sense. I'm thinking of telling people that as a rule of thumb, if they're looking at used gear that's older than ten years, or that has been heavily jumped, they should plan on having to drop $500 in upkeep (repairs and replacement parts) on it to make it airworthy, pending a full inspection. But is seems that, since gear is kind of like a trusted friend to the owner, people tend to try to sell their gear for its sentimental value (which is high) rather than its actual value (which is often low, especially if it's been sitting in the closet while the owner hems and haws about leaving the sport for a few years). And newbies pay it, because they don't know any better, and often don't even know who to ask...

I totally agree with this. I did literally hundreds of main relines as a senior rigger, at first with minimal 'supervision,' then totally on my own. During this same period I diagnosed and reworked several grievous errors made by Master Riggers who had relined canopies. I also replaced some reserve lines for a Master Rigger who did not feel comfortable doing it himself, but who knew I had the skill to do it (he did supervise those jobs, since he would be logging the work). Until it becomes true that Master Riggers are actually better at the work, it just doesn't make sense to say only they can do relines, especially when we are talking about just installing linesets built by the factory. I *could* see an argument that only a Master Rigger may manufacture a replacement lineset, but even there I have little faith that the average master rigger is particularly good at that (I'm a strong believer in factory made parts wherever available).

considering that the dues have been the same since I joined in 1998, it doesn't seem that big an increase, to me.

$75 includes wash and reassembly. Repack additional at the standard price. And I always wish I had charged more.

agreed. Those order forms are a bit confusing, as they appear on their website today!